Abstract

Using cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as collector, the flotation de-silicating from diasporic-bauxite was investigated. And the Zeta potentials and contact-angles of silicate minerals and diaspore were also stu-(died.)The results show that in the presence of 2×10~(-4) mol·L~(-1)CTAB, the surface charges of pyrophyllite, kaolinite and illite become more positive, and the contact angles of these three silicates also increase evidently in the pH range of 2-8, but the Zeta potentials and contact angles of diaspore change little. So, the floatability of the four minerals is in the following order: pyrophyllitekaolinite≈illitediaspore. The open-circuit flotation results also show that a bauxite concentrate with m(Al_2O_3)/m(SiO_2) over 9.3 and Al_2O_3 recovery over 76% can be obtained from diasporic-bauxite ore. The result of XRD of the bauxite concentrate shows that pyrophyllite is easier to be removed from diasporic-bauxite than illite and kaolinite due to its better floatability.